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Loughs Agency offers packed activity schedule for Foyle Maritime Festival

Loughs Agency offers packed activity schedule for Foyle Maritime Festival

Date: 01/07/2022


Loughs Agency will have a visible presence during the upcoming Foyle Maritime Festival, with a wide range of water and land activities for the whole family to enjoy. The activities will mostly be based at the Agency’s zone along the River Foyle and bookings are now open.

Revellers can enjoy Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga courtesy of Far & Wild or take part in four-person Dragon SUP races. Foyle Paddlers will be providing Canoe Taster Sessions and Twilight Paddles, as well as staging the annual Foyle Race. Sit On Top Kayaking will be available with Binevenagh Adventures, while the Foyle Bubble Challenge will be hosted by Driftwood Canoe Club. Off-site activities include Angling Sessions and Watersports at Creggan Country Park.

This special aquatic-themed zone will also be dedicated to educating and informing the public on important marine topics. A custom-created VR experience will transport people from along the Quay to underneath the Foyle to showcase the marine life that exists within the Foyle and Carlingford loughs. Loughs Agency is also excited to debut its ‘Marine Machine’, a mobile interactive facility complete with a life-size basking shark, touch tanks and a biodiversity area.

The Foyle Maritime Festival returns this summer for the first time since 2018, alongside the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet. The five-day event runs from 20th - 24th July, with thousands of people from all over the world expected to attend.

Sharon McMahon, Loughs Agency CEO, said: “It’s been a long wait for the return of the Foyle Maritime Festival but we couldn’t be more excited to see the banks of the River Foyle buzzing again. We’re proud to partner an event of such significance and delighted to have secured a number of key providers to deliver a variety of fun activities out on the water.

“We’re also looking forward to showcasing our Marine Machine and VR Experience, both of which will act as key learning tools on the importance of conservation, management, promotion and development of the fisheries and marine resources of the Foyle and Carlingford catchments.”

Gerald McGahey from Foyle Paddlers added: “The Foyle Maritime Festival is a huge event and Foyle Paddlers is delighted to be teaming up with Loughs Agency again this year to offer the public some fun experiences on the river.  Our taster sessions are an enjoyable and safe way of introducing people to paddling in different types of kayaks and canoes while our twilight paddle is also not to be missed as the crafts will be beautifully illuminated for an evening expedition passing through the city.  Foyle Paddlers has been involved with the Foyle Maritime Festival for a number of years and we look forward to once again sharing our enjoyment of the River Foyle with the public.”

Limited spaces are available for the water activities at the Foyle Maritime Festival. Bookings can be made via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/loughs-agency-48068700913

Loughs Agency proudly supports the Foyle Maritime Festival in partnership with Derry City and Strabane District Council, Visit Derry and Tourism NI.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

21 April 1926 to 8 September 2022